Language:
English
Pages:
1 Online-Ressource (VIII, 20 Seiten)
Series Statement:
University of Bayreuth African Studies Working Papers 28
Series Statement:
Academy Reflects 28
Abstract:
In Kenya today, churches serve as a central pillar of socio-economic support to people in their hour of need. Drawing on ethnographic research at a small Pentecostal church in Kisumu, Western Kenya, we present four modes of such material support. This classification allows us to examine the provision of church assistance as a subtle balancing act in which leaders and so-called `super-members` seek to bind lay members into greater commitment by projecting institutional dependability while carefully avoiding excessive demands. Rejecting the caricature of the self-enriching charismatic leader, and focused on the intertwinement of religious commitment and class, we offer a fresh examination of churches` mechanisms of welfare assistance beyond a simple vertical/horizontal (or institutional/congregational) binarism. - Keywords: Kenya; Social Support; Solidarity; Pentecostalism; Anthropology
